1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, and particularly, to an image pickup apparatus capable of remotely and wirelessly controlling a television lens that is used for television shooting.
2. Description of the Related Art
When shooting is performed while a television camera is supported by a tripod, a camera operator adjusts zooming and focusing by operating a zoom controller and a focus controller that are connected to a photographic lens via a cable.
On the other hand, some image pickup apparatuses enable a camera operator to operate a zoom controller or a focus controller via wireless communication instead of wire communication.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-137043 discusses an image pickup apparatus in which a wireless receiving device is provided on the side surface of a large photographic lens used in studio shooting, and the lens is controlled via wireless communication with a controller present on a camera operator's hand. A cable disturbing a shooting operation is removed and is not necessary, so that it is easy to install an image pickup system.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-033284 discusses a wireless remote control device which remotely operates a handy lens for shoulder-held shooting. In this device, a small receiving unit is connected to a connector provided at a grip portion of a photographic lens and a signal is transmitted from a remote controller attached to a pan rod of a tripod via wireless communication. In studio shooting using a handy camera, there is a case in which the camera operator suddenly performs shooting while holding a television camera, which is usually mounted on a tripod, on the operator's shoulder. When the photographic lens and the controller are connected to each other via a cable, it is necessary to perform the work of separating the cable from the lens apparatus. For this reason, there is an issue in that the current shooting style may not promptly switch to the shoulder-held shooting. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-033284 discusses an example in which tripod shooting and shoulder-held shooting may promptly switch to each other via wireless communication between a photographic lens and a controller.
When the camera operator promptly detaches the photographic camera mounted on the tripod and wirelessly controlled from the tripod and uses the photographic camera for shooting, the photographic lens is manually operated. Thus, the wireless communication device detachably attached to the image pickup apparatus does not need to be provided, but shooting is continuously performed without any time to detach the wireless communication device. For this reason, the wireless communication device needs to be designed so as not to disturb the shooting operation.
When hand-held shooting is performed while the camera operator uses the handy camera for broadcast, shooting may be performed according to various styles. In general, a method is used in which the handy camera is carried by the camera operator's shoulder, the grip portion of the photographic lens is held by the right hand, and zooming or focusing is manually operated by the left hand. When an object is shot at a low angle, the handle at the upper portion of the camera is held by the right hand, and the camera is held closer to the knee to shoot the object. Likewise, various operation styles may be used depending on the shooting condition, but it is desirable that the receiving device necessary for wireless control does not disturb a manual shooting operation.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-137043, the receiving unit necessary for wireless communication is fixed to the side surface of the photographic lens. Here, there is no issue in a box-type lens for studio shooting mainly performing tripod shooting. However, in the handy camera for shoulder-held shooting, an operation ring is provided at an exterior surface of the photographic lens to operate zooming or focusing. For this reason, since the lens operation is disturbed if the receiving unit is provided near the photographic lens, this configuration is not practical.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-033284, the wireless receiving unit is attached to the connector provided at the grip portion of the handy lens. However, if the receiving unit is provided at the grip portion held by the right hand when the handy camera carried by the shoulder, there is a possibility that the receiving unit may touch the right hand. This is not a great issue when the receiving unit is small. However, when shooting is performed while the photographic lens is loaded on a crane, a large-sized receiving unit is inevitably required for the purpose of ensuring a comparatively long communication distance. For this reason, when the receiving unit is provided near the grip portion of the photographic lens, the receiving unit may touch the hand holding the photographic lens and may disturb an operation in which the photographic lens is held by the right hand.
Further, the photographic lens or the photographic camera to which the receiving unit is detachably attached may have various shapes. The receiving unit needs to be detachably attached to any photographic equipment. Furthermore, it is desirable that the receiving unit does not disturb the shooting operation in any shooting style such as shoulder-held shooting or low-angle shooting.